A New Start
by fallingaway24
Summary: This is a Dasey and my very first fanfiction, reviews would be appreciated
1. Chapter 1

Casey looked down at the city beneath her. The landscape was beautiful; there were high mountains, dense forests and dark blue lakes and waterfalls. This place made the rest of Canada look dull.

After all her years of schooling in California, Casey McDonald was going to start a new life and new job in the gorgeous city of Vancouver.

Casey then turned her attention from the ground to her reflection in the plane window. She looked tired and depressed. She decided that this new start in her life was going to make her forget the past and become the old happy Casey she used to be. But, for some reason, everything she looked at for the past ten years reminded her of what happened long ago. Even the snow on the mountains reminded Casey about her family. The day the McDonalds moved in with the Venturis, the days they went camping, had snowball fights with Edwin, Lizzie and Marti, the days her and Derek were in love……

Casey shook her head, why was she remembering all this. She had not seen or communicated with her family for ten years but she remembered her last day in that house like it was yesterday.

"Casey!" Norah shouted, "look at me, how could you do this?? I should have known when your grades dropped. I….I" Norah put her hand up to forehead and started to pace around the living room. "I don't understand, how could you do something like this?"

_Casey was crying on the ground in the living room. Her eyes were on Derek who was being held back by his father. _

"_Why can't you guys just be happy for us?" asked Derek as he got free and ran beside Casey._

"_We find out that our children have been secretly dating and skipping school to be together…..and god knows what else you two have done…..did you really expect us to be happy when we found out all of this was going on?" George answered. _

"_I thought you would understand dad because we love each other"_

"_No Derek Venturi" his father started, "You don't know what love is!"_

Casey put her hands up onto her head as she started to feel light headed. She had to stop thinking about the past. Casey slipped her hands into her handbag and pulled out a book, maybe a good read will take her mind off of everything.

After a page into chapter 4, Casey started to drift off into her memories again.

"That's it Casey, we didn't want to do this but we have to, here is your plane ticket. You are going to live with your Aunt Fiona in California."

_Derek stood up in shock "What? You can't do this, have you two lost it? Your blowing this whole thing way out of proportion."_

_Casey then stood up and walked up to her mother "Is this seriously what you want mom? You would rather send your daughter away then accept the truth."_

"_Your plane leaves in an hour" was the only reply Casey got._

"_Fine then!" Casey cried "Just to let you know, If I go, I will never talk to you or want to see you ever again!"_

Casey's thoughts were then interrupted by the pilots announcement.

"Passengers please fasten your seat belts, we will be landing shortly."

Casey leaned her head on the window, starting fresh was going to be harder than she thought.


	2. Chapter 2

Two days had gone by and Casey was still not fully settled in. She had emptied more then three quarters of the boxes but was too tired to empty the rest because a) the truck with all of her stuff arrived late and b) she had been waking up early ever since she moved in. Every morning she would suddenly wake up due to the loud music coming from the suite above her. This morning the music was louder than ever.

Casey turned and looked at her alarm clock that stood on the wooden table beside her. It was only 6:30 am and the music upstairs was blaring. Casey grunted and put the pillows on-top of her head to block the noise but it was no use.

After making her bed and drinking her morning coffee, Casey went out onto her balcony to enjoy the view. She didn't think an apartment this perfect could be found. It had a beautiful view and everything she wanted. In California, she had gotten in touch with a real-estate agent and had told him everything she was looking for in an apartment. The real-estate sent her three choices and she chose this apartment thinking it was the best she could do. It wasn't until after she got there that she noticed it was just the dream apartment she imagined. (excluding the loud mornings and nights).

Casey had no other choice but to empty boxes today because she had nothing else to do. Her job as a pediatrician did not start for another two weeks, the cable company didn't connect her to the T.V or internet yet and she was too tired to go sight seeing.

After emptying five of the last six boxes that morning, casey realized that the last box was going to be the hardest to open. It was the box that held all of her pictures and video tapes, in other words, her memories. Casey opened the box and took out her photo album. The first section was of her mom and Lizzie and her dad and as she flipped, she got to the section with the Venturis. There were pictures of her and the whole family at her mom and George's wedding, pictures of their family vacations and even of her and Marti fooling around. As Casey flipped pages she got to the part with her and Derek. There were pictures of them at school, them on one of their secret dates and some with Emily and Sam. She wiped the tears that were flowing down her cheeks and wondered what everything would be like if she was still with her family. Was there anyway she could have made this situation turn out differently? What if she refused to go to California, would her mom and George change their minds? What if she listened to Derek and ran away or moved out, would her parents get even more furious or actually forgive them as time went by? She didn't know but all she did know was that what was done was done, and there was nothing she could do to fix anything now. Sometimes she wondered if she could patch this situation up but, whenever her mom tried in the past, she would never pick up the phone or refuse to talk to her. What was she going to do now, Phone and ask her mom to forgive and forget ten years later? Sometimes she blamed herself for not keeping in touch with Derek because she could have, but chose not to. That day when she left she was so angry inside that she wanted to forget everything, including Derek.

_Casey could not see because her eyes were blurry with tears. She carried her suitcase down the stairs and opened the door. _

"_Casey wait!" Derek yelled from behind her. As Casey turned around she saw Lizzie, Edwin, Marti and Derek standing there. The kids were staring down at the floor but Derek moved towards her and took her hand "We can fix this, don't go, I'll go pack...we could get out of here together."_

"_Derek, things are already bad enough" she sobbed, "you stay and live your life and forget about me, I need to get away from here and if I don't listen to my mom and George now, they might send you somewhere too. You should be happy...just forget about me please."_

"_Casey your acting irrationally!" Derek screamed but Casey just ignored him._

_She bent down and hugged Marti who was still in her pajamas. "Don't leave Casey please, I promise I will stop using your make up for potions! I promise!"_

_Next, Casey hugged Edwin and Lizzie who were still standing there with their eyes downcast when she heard the horn of her taxi._

" _I guess mom and George aren't going to come down to say goodbye." she whispered. She then quickly hugged Derek tightly, kissed him on the cheek and picked up her suitcase. Casey ran without looking back because she knew that if she did, she might change her mind. _

_She jumped into the taxi with her small suitcase and left. She saw Derek running after the taxi and screaming her name but what she didn't see was her mom crying and running to the door of the house to stop her daughter from leaving. _

_Her mom tried to contact Casey after that but Casey refused to talk to her. Norah tried to come and visit her daughter but whenever she made an effort to come, Casey would find out before and run away not even telling her cousin Vicky where she was going and she would return weeks after Norah had left. After a while Norah stopped trying and Casey regretted not trying._

All of a sudden the loud blaring music started again taking Casey out of her thoughts. She looked at the oven to see what the time was and realized it was 7:00 pm. She had been emptying boxes and organizing for over twelve hours. She was tired and impatient and didn't have the energy to listen to the horrible music coming from upstairs anymore. Casey grabbed the broom she had yet to find a place for and hit the ceiling. The person upstairs hit the floor hard and turned the music up louder. There was no way this was going to end unless Casey went up there herself.

Casey grabbed her keys locked her door and went out the emergency exit. She stomped up the steps and thought of all the ways she could ask the person to turn down the volume of their music without making anyone mad but getting her point across. As she stepped on the 16th floor she noticed the music was double as loud here as it was downstairs. "How do these people stand this racket" She thought.

She knocked on the door "Excuse me, could you please turn down the music? Excuse me?" Nobody answered or opened the door. "Excuse me, could you" Casey was cut off when the door opened and a very familiar face stood at the door. She could recognize that face anywhere, it was the face she left behind and tried to forget years ago, it was the face of the one, the only, Derek Venturi.


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors Note: Thank you to everyone who reviewed! (RAWR-IKICKBUTT, Crimson and chrome 42, riteurheartout92, iluvacting, seventhprincess, sewinchick90, kg1219, Sparrows Dragonfly, jeytonlover, and SaMDR) You guys all rock.**

**I personally don't think this chapter is very good. It was really hard to write because I didn't know how Casey would react to the whole 'seing Derek again' thing. Well this is my first fanfiction so you know what they say...practice makes perfect. I don't know how you guys will like it so you'll just have to review and let me know. I haven't thought about what should happen in the next chapter so suggestions would be awesome.**

Derek and Casey were staring blankly at each other in the door way. Casey froze, she couldn't think, move or feel. All she could do was stare. Vancouver was supposed to be her 'new start' but, the only thing it was doing was bringing her old memories back to her. As she looked at Derek's face she felt all the emotions she tried to cover up over time rush through her once again. She didn't know if she should be happy that she found Derek or upset that she had to face all of these problems once again. Before she knew it, her emotions were being expressed in tears right there in his doorway.

Derek was also staring at Casey but in shock. The girl he loved and thought he lost forever was standing right in front of him. He knew the look on her face well, it was the expression of confusion and panic. He had seen it when her father died, when she fought with her mom and when she left.

Derek finally stepped forward and wiped the tears that were coming down her cheek.

"Casey?"

She didn't answer or move. This time his shocked expression turned into a look of concern. He placed his hands on her shoulders and tried to move her toward him. This brought her out of her trance.

"Casey?" he asked again.

Casey backed away from him. This was too much for her to handle, the inside of her brain was cloudy and she didn't know how to react. She just started to do what she felt was natural...run.

Casey spun around and started to run towards the emergency exit. Derek knew this was going to end up happening. He tried to grab her arm to keep her from leaving, but she was too fast. He decided that he was going to go after her. After all of these years, he had finally found her, he wasn't going to loose her again.

"Casey? Casey! Don't do this please, not again!" he yelled as he started to sprint after her but it was no use, she just kept going. He reached the emergency exit and opened the door seeing that she wasn't far ahead.

"Casey, why do you always run from your problems!" He yelled but heard a hard thump instead of a response. He ran to the edge of the staircase and looked down. Casey had fallen down the last few steps.

"Somethings never change" Derek quietly mumbled as he made his way over to her.

"Are you okay?" he asked concerned.

Casey didn't reply, she just started to cry harder. Derek took a good look at her, she was even more beautiful then he remembered (although her eyes were red and swollen).

He reached out and pulled the wet hair away from Casey's face and tucked it behind her ear. She then looked up, suddenly hugged him and continued to cry on his shoulder. The hug shocked Derek and sent shivers down his spine, he had forgotten how much he missed her touch.

After a few minutes of her crying, Derek broke the silence.

"Why didn't you call me?"

Casey pulled away and wiped the tears falling from her cheeks.

"what?"

"You heard me, why didn't you call?"

"Derek..." Casey started "Can we not talk about this right now?

Derek looked at her wet face. He didn't want to see her cry or run again, so he agreed.

"Fine, have it your way." He sat beside her and she stood up avoiding eye contact.

"I need to go" she whispered but when she took a step forward, she began to collapse and Derek caught her before she hit the ground.

"So, it looks like you will be needing help getting to your suite." Casey nodded without making eye contact once again.

"Do you have your key, I can go first and unlock the door." he offered.

Casey sat back on the steps and checked her pocket. The key wasn't there. She felt all of her pockets and looked around the floor. "I put them in my jacket pocket but its not here." she said in a worried tone. "Maybe they slipped out when I fell."

"Well" Derek began "it looks like your spending the night at my suite" he said

"I could call a lock smith!"

"No lock smith works this late." he replied.

He grabbed her arm and helped her up the stairs.

When they arrived at his suite Derek put her to his couch. Casey was busy analyzing his apartment. It was just as messy as his old room used to be. The floors were covered in clothes and old pizza boxes were laying around. A smile tugged on her face when she noticed Derek hadn't changed a bit.

Derek appeared from inside with a box of kleenex. "I hope your done crying"

Casey wiped the last remaining tears on her face and thought about her situation. It almost made her want to cry again. How was she going to survive spending the night at Derek's apartment.

They both stayed up until midnight talking about their past. After a few minutes of talking Casey started to warm up and began talking to Derek like she used to. They laughed at memories of Marti. Casey asked about Edwin and Lizzie. She wondered how they looked, what they were like and what they were doing now. They talked about Sam and Emily and even about other class mates like Tinker and Sheldon. Derek made sure he didn't bring up anything about their relationship or parents. He didn't want to upset her again. He thought maybe if he gave her time to calm down now, she would be really to solve her problems later. They talked until Casey got tired and fell asleep on the couch. Watching her snore reminded Derek of the time when...

It was another family vacation and this time the destination was Disneyland. Unfortunately, the hotel that they were supposed to stay at over booked and bumped the family to the hotel across the street. The worst part was there were only three rooms and three beds in total. Norah and George choose the two rooms that connected so they could keep an eye on the kids. This meant Derek and Casey had to share the same room and the same bed.

"_DEREK!" Casey screamed "Your on my side!"_

"_Well, if you haven't noticed your big body takes up more then half of the bed! I need more space, move over!"_

"_No Venturi, I am not moving over! If you want more space then sleep on the floor"_

"_You know what? I would NEVER let you get what you want but I want to get SOME sleep tonight." Derek got up and walked over to the chair across the room._

_A few minutes passed by and Casey looked up wondering why Derek was turning so often. She noticed he was struggling to find a comfortable spot on the tiny chair and not only that but, he was shivering._

_Casey felt bad, stood up and stomped over to where he was. "Here, you can have the bed, I'll sleep here."_

"_Oh your so thoughtful!" He stated sarcastically. "I'm not going."_

"_Derek! I am letting you have the bed, go! Why do you have to be so difficult?"_

"_I'm not the one who's difficult, you are!"_

"_No you are!"_

"_Fine then Venturi, I show you difficult. If you wont sleep on the bed neither will I." Casey grabbed the bed sheets and jumped into the chair beside him. After about 20 minutes of arguing, Casey fell asleep but Derek couldn't. He observed Casey and quietly chuckled at her snoring. Knowing she was sleeping beside him made his nervous. At that moment Derek realized he was in love with her._

_Casey woke up at 7:00 that morning and looked at the chair beside her. The way Derek was sleeping made him look cute. His arms and legs were sticking out of the spaces in the chair._

_She tried to wake him up softly. "Derek...pisst...Derek?"_

_All of a sudden, she was startled by his voice._

"_mmmm...stop that." He said in his sleep. Casey shrugged and tried to wake him up again. _

"_Derek...wake up..." _

_He started again, "ha...your tickling me..." Casey's eyebrows scrunched up. 'eww gross' she thought 'who knows what or who he is dreaming about'_

"_..mmmm...Casey...stop tickling me..."_

_As soon as Casey heard her name she tipped the chair over and Derek flew out of it._

"_What the hell Casey? What was that for? Can't anyone get any rest here?"_

"_You deserve it"_

"_You know what, your crazy! You know why? Because your the only girl I know that wakes up and continues a fight from where she left off."_

"_Oh no Derek, this is not about the bed. This is about something else."_

"_What did I do now? Sleep innocently?_

"_You were talking in your sleep and you were dreaming about girls! Even saying their names!"_

"_So what? How is this your business?"_

"_You said my name Derek!"_

"_I...must have had a nightmare!"_

Derek laughed the memory then covered Casey with a blanket. He then walked into the kitchen and opened the first drawer on the left and reached into his pocket. Out of his pocket appeared Casey's keys, he quietly dropped them into the drawer and tried to think of an explanation for having them.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note : I would like to say a special thanks to...Nobodie-special-just-me, sewinchick90, Lanakila91, Jeytonlover and RAWR-IKICKBUTT. Thank you for your reviews, they encourage me to keep writing. I hope everyone will enjoy this chapter.**

Derek stirred in his messy bed. Usually, he would have slept in but, with Casey sleeping in the living room he was feeling nervous. He still couldn't breathe when he thought about her.

Derek waited for a year hoping she would get in touch with him after she left. He thought maybe everything would work out and she would come back home.

He wrote lengthy letters to her, emailed her and even called her but she wouldn't reply. As time passed Derek started to feel outraged. Why would she throw their love away like that? After all the experiences they had together, how could she eliminate him from her life?

Eventually he stopped waiting and got on with his life like any other person would. He went out on dates and even had relationships but, it was never the same. What he and Casey had was different. It didn't matter how many dates he went on or how many beautiful girls he met, they were just a distraction from the girl he could never get over. It felt like she was always there haunting him in his head. To this day, whenever someone mentioned the name "Casey" his stomach would drop.

Derek got up from his bed, changed into jeans and a t-shirt and walked out into the living room. Casey was still sound asleep on the couch. After they talked last night he had some hope that everything would work out. They actually talked like they did in the good old days and, from what he understood, she couldn't move on either...meaning she wasn't in a relationship. Maybe if they spent time together, it would remind her of the love they had.

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Casey rubbed her eyes and looked up at Derek. He noticed she was awake and was having a fake conversation with the 'locksmith' at the door.

"Yeah, thats great, thanks for coming down so early."

Casey sat up and stared with a confused face. "Who are you talking to" she asked Derek as he closed the front door.

He focussed on her from where he was standing. Casey was re-tying her long silky brown hair into a messy bun.

"Oh, that was the locksmith, I phoned him early this morning and he came."

Derek reached into the kitchen drawer, "these are your new keys."

"uh thanks" she walked over and fetched the keys from on top of the counter. "These look identical to my old ones"

Derek nodded his head trying not to smile "isn't that weird?"

"Yeah," Casey replied still kind of confused, "I think I should go now...you know...since I can unlock my door and all"

"Wait! I made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast..."

"your favorite" they both said in unison and smiled.

Casey eyes were fixed on her feet, "No, thanks anyway, I should really get going." She slowly made her way to the door and put on her shoes.

"You know, I planned our whole day, so if you didn't stay I'd be really upset." Derek said as he took a bite of one of the pancakes.

"I'm...uh...really busy today, maybe we could reschedule?"

"Busy doing what? I know you well so, don't even try to lie. You still suck at it anyways." Derek added with a smirk. Casey hesitated for a bit then answered.

"Fine, I'll go down, change into something better and... will go."

She smiled on the outside but was mentally kicking herself on the inside. 'Why was it impossible for her to say 'no' to Derek?'

Casey waved before she left and closed the door behind her. 'and why do I have trouble speaking when I'm around him' she wondered.

'I am not still in love with Derek' she kept telling herself 'I can't still be in love with Derek, all of the years I tried to forget him would be a waste'

She unlocked her door and stepped in. 'and even if I was, it would never work because we would run into the same problems... right?'

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"Derek? Where are we going?" Casey asked while getting into his torch red Mustang convertible.

"I told you I'm gonna show you around the city, as to where we go first, your just gonna have to wait and see."

Casey put her hand on the edge of the car door and turned herself slightly so she could see the city as Derek drove. She couldn't find the words to describe how pretty the view was. Even the shapes of the buildings were spectacular.

After 20 minutes of driving, the car stopped and they both got out. Casey looked ahead and all she saw were trees.

"What is this place?"

"This is the Capilano Suspension Bridge. One of the oldest tourist attractions in Vancouver."

"Derek, I don't see a bridge."

"Just wait, were gonna have to walk there, follow me." he signaled.

Casey followed Derek through the trail as she searched through her tourist guide.

"Here we go, the Capilano Suspension Bridge." Casey read. "Originally built in 1889, stretches 450 feet (137m) across and 230 feet (70m) above the Capilano River."

"Case, you don't need to read about it, just look in front of you." Casey slowly lifted her head up and gulped. The bridge was skinny, long, and old. There was no way she was going to go across.

"Derek, its beautiful and all but, were not going to cross it are we?" Casey asked nervously.

"Why? Are you scared."

"Me, scared, no! But...are you sure its safe?"

"Casey, all of these people have crossed that bridge, do you think it will collapse when you cross it? And plus its been here for years, I don't think it would be a tourist attraction if it wasn't safe. But, knowing how big of a klutz you are, maybe we shouldn't cross after all."

Casey elbowed Derek in the stomach. After that comment nobody could stop her from walking across.

As they started to step on the bridge, Casey was getting more and more nervous. Every step she took felt like she was walking on air and she felt as though she was going to faint. Her hands started to shake and Derek noticed.

"Case, you okay?"

"I am totally fine" She replied and took a deep breath 'just don't look down' Casey told herself.

They were almost half way when they came across kids that were shaking the bridge. Casey grabbed onto Derek and held his hand. Derek didn't say anything, he just smiled. She was so close to him, it made him feel warm. He bent down and took in her scent, it was still the same as he remembered.

They slowly made their way off the bridge and Casey quickly let go of Derek. "I thought you weren't scared?" Derek asked.

"Fine! I was, but, it wasn't that bad and plus I'm glad it's over with."

Derek chuckled, "Casey, you do realize we are going to have to cross it again to get back to the car right?"

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Derek and Casey had travelled all around town. Casey took pictures everywhere she went. They had gone so many places that her feet were swollen. "I knew I shouldn't of worn my heels' she thought.

"Derek, I've had a really good time but, I'm pooped, can we go home now?"

"This is the last stop" he answered as he parked the car. "I thought since we were out we could have dinner too."

They walked inside the restaurant and Casey was shocked once again. Everything was so romantic. The whole restaurant was lit with only candles. The walls of the seating area were made of glass facing the city and, it seemed like there was nobody there but the two of them.

The waiter seated Casey and Derek at the center table and took their orders. When their dinners came everything was really awkward all of a sudden. Neither of them spoke, they just ate.

Suddenly her favorite song started to play lightly in the background. It was "Kiss Me" by Six Pence None The Richer.

Derek stood up and walked around the table and held out his hand. "May I have this dance?"

Casey stood up. She placed her hand in Derek's and he placed his hand gently on her back.

_**Kiss me out of the bearded barley.**_

_**Lightly, beside the green, green grass. **_

_**Swing, swing, swing the spinning step. **_

_**You wear those shoes and I will wear that dress.**_

"Derek, thank you so much for showing me around, I had a really great time."

"No problem"

"You know after what I did, I never expected you to speak to me again. I expected you to hate me and yell at me if you ever saw me. But, you didn't, why?"

"Because I still love you Casey." Those words hit Casey like a knife.

"But, If you knew you were hurting me so much, why did you do it?"

_**Oh, kiss me beneath the milky twilight.**_

_**Lead me out on the moonlit floor.**_

_**Lift your open hand.**_

_**Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance,**_

_**silver moon's sparkling.**_

_**So kiss me.**_

Casey looked up into Derek's eyes "Because I thought forgetting me would be the best for you. Our relationship was causing us all sorts of trouble, your life was getting complicated, because of me. I didn't want you to suffer. I thought maybe you would be happier with someone else."

Derek tightened the grip on Casey's waist "You know for a smart girl, your pretty stupid. I could never be happy without you." Casey smiled and tears dripped down her face.

Derek placed his lips on Casey's ear and whispered making her whole body shake. "There's still one question you haven't answered. Do you still love me?"

_**Kiss me down by the broken tree house.**_

_**Swing me high upon its hanging tire.**_

_**Bring, bring, bring your flowered hat.**_

_**We'll take the trail marked on your father's map.**_

Casey looked up to answer but Derek didn't give her a chance he brought her even closer. They were so close Casey's stomach was fluttering.

_**Oh, kiss me beneath the milky twilight.**_

_**Lead me out on the moonlit floor. **_

_**Lift your open hand. **_

_**Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance, **_

_**silver moon's sparkling.**_

_**So kiss me.**_

Derek finally came close enough for their noses to touch and captured her lips with his.

**If you guys could review and tell me what you thought of the chapter, that would be great. Suggestions for the next chapter would be appreciated.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Once again, thanks for all of the reviews and suggestions. I really mean it! **

**This is the last chapter. I hope you guys like it.**

Casey was tapping her pen on the wooden desk in front of her. She was deep in her thoughts. It had been more than three weeks since Derek kissed her in that restaurant and that kiss turned her whole life around. Her and Derek were together once again and she had never felt happier in her life. She remembered of the time she analyzed her reflection in the window on her way to Vancouver. She remembered how bad she looked. Now, when she caught sight of her reflection, she noticed the drastic change. She no longer looked tired or depressed, instead she was glowing. That night when Derek kissed her, she told him she was still in love with him too. She finally gave up trying to run away from her destiny because, no matter how far she tried to get away, it only brought them closer together.

Casey only had one last problem to solve and that was the problem with her family. After thinking for hours she made her decision. She was going to call them. This time if they didn't approve of her and Derek's relationship, she wasn't going to care. They were both happy and to Casey thats all that mattered. When was going to call? She didn't know but she knew it wasn't going to be today. Today was her birthday and she was going to have a good time.

Casey glanced at the clock, it was 5:30 p.m. already. Every-time Casey came to work, time seemed to pass by extremely fast. It was partly because she was so busy but mostly because she enjoyed coming to her new job.

Casey put on her coat and drove home. She wondered what Derek had planned for her birthday.

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Casey went into the elevator and unzipped her purse. She pulled out Derek's keys. He had given them to her this morning telling her to come straight to his suite after work. Casey frowned at this thought. 'he must be planning something big' she told herself. She hoped he didn't try to cook her dinner again because the last time he did, it took 3 fire trucks to put out the fire he started.

Casey laughed slightly at the memory and walked out onto the 16th floor. Pulling out the keys from her pocket she walked to Derek's door and unlocked it. She pushed it open but it seemed like nobody was home. Derek wasn't anywhere in sight. 'thats funny' she thought. Casey took off her shoes but was startled by a tap on her shoulder. She spun around and was ready to scream but didn't when she realized it was Derek.

"Derek, where were you? Don't sneak up on me like that again you almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry Case, I was just putting your birthday present in my bedroom."

Derek gave Casey a peck on the cheek then took ahold of her hand and dragged her across the room.

"Aww, you brought me a present! Thats so sweet." Casey noticed that she was being dragged.

"Derek? What's the rush? Why are you pulling me?"

"Case, I want you to open your present now okay?"

Casey nodded and they both stopped at the door of his bedroom.

"I forgot to wrap it though, I hope you don't mind."

Casey put her hand on the door knob and turned it slowly. She was anxious to see what Derek had bought her.

But, when Casey opened the door she didn't see a present. She saw five presents, each being held by a member of her family. There in Derek's room stood Norah, George, Lizzie, Edwin and Marti. They were all smiling at her except for her mom. Norah was also crying.

At that moment her whole family rushed over and hugged Casey who was in shock. How did Derek manage to plan all this? When everyone stepped away from her, she stood in the door way staring at them as tears of happiness rolled down her cheeks.

She first looked at Marti. She had grown to be a very pretty girl. The last time she had seen Marti, she was in grade 1. Now she was sixteen years old and looked totally different. Casey ran up and gave her a tight hug and kiss on the cheek. "Casey, I missed you so much." Marti whispered as they hugged.

Next in line was Edwin. Edwin had grown to be taller then Derek and looked extremely handsome. Casey hugged him too and ruffed up his hair. "We all missed you Case." he told her.

Casey was now crying so hard her shirt was wet.

She then ran to Lizzie and before she could do anything Lizzie grabbed her and brought her into a tight embrace. Lizzie was still a tomboy but as beautiful as ever. Her hair was dyed darker which made her look more like her mom. "If you ever leave us again, I'll have to kill you!" Lizzie joked. Casey smiled "I wasn't planning too."

Next was George. He looked the same except older. "Hi dad, I missed you!" she said as she put her arms around her step-dad. That sentence surprised George, it was the first time Casey had ever called him 'dad'.

Finally it was time to face her mom. Norah stood there with tears in her eyes. "Honey, I'm so sorry!" she started but was interrupted by Casey " Lets just forgive and forget mom." The two then hugged each other tightly and let their emotions come out in tears.

"Casey, I tried to run after you that day, I really did. You have no idea how many days I cried, how many times I wished I could tell you I loved you."

Casey started to cry even more. "Mom, its okay. I'm so sorry I was so stubborn."

Norah released Casey from their hug and looked at her. "I made a mistake of keeping you and Derek apart. I am glad you two are back together and I hope nothing ever tears you two apart."

"Don't worry about us" Casey said as she looked at Derek. She made her way to him and put her arms around his neck "Nothing can ever break us apart again!"

Casey then kissed Derek passionately on the lips and the whole family cheered.

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After a while, the apartment was filled with a familiar sound. It was the sound of her family. Marti and Edwin were fighting. George and Lizzie were trying to break them apart. Norah was serving food in the kitchen. Everything was like it was long ago.

Casey was watching all of this from the couch. She was so happy that everything was okay and her family was around her once again.

Derek sat beside Casey and she looked up at him. "this has been the best birthday ever and the best day of my life. Thank you." She smiled

"You want to know what the best day of my life was?" Derek asked

"what?" Casey replied waiting for an answer.

"The day I met you" he replied as he leaned in to kiss her.


End file.
